JAKARTA – Governments in the process of negotiating the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) must ensure that the trade deal’s provisions protect human rights. That was the message from parliamentarians and other stakeholders who convened in Jakarta this week to discuss the RCEP and its implications for the region’s citizens during a two-day dialogue organized by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), and the Extraterritorial Obligation (ETO) Consortium.
The meeting brought together members of parliament from countries involved in the RCEP, international experts, civil society representatives, and government officials to discuss the ongoing negotiations and the trade deal’s likely impact on human rights. At the conclusion of the dialogue, parliamentarians called for more attention to the deal’s human rights implications.
